


23 Cm

by aedontheshore



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:11:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21081659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aedontheshore/pseuds/aedontheshore
Summary: Woozi and Mingyu have been neighbors for almost 15 years, but for one of them, they’re nothing but a mere friend. They have a story in the past which Woozi wishes he could forget, but he’s unforeseen the probability of Mingyu to use it against him. As the countdown begins, Woozi becomes unsure of his own feelings: has he been controverting himself all this time or is it just a matter of keeping a promise as a man?





	1. We Are Neighbors

**Author's Note:**

> I adore the height difference between Woozi and Mingyu. They're not really my OTP but the way they interact been so cute in my eyes that I ended up with this idea. This is not the genre that I'm used to writing these days but I think working on a lighter theme is fun once in a while. Also, apologize in advance if there is any grammatical error in the sentences! I hope you enjoy it!

When I was in 10th grade, I watched this documentary about cuckoo birds in Biology class. It’s the kind of parasitic bird that lays their eggs onto another type of bird’s nest then lets the mother bird nurturing it along with its own eggs. Once it hatches, the baby bird will be raised together with the other baby birds while the host mother feeds it. 

At that moment, I realized that it reflected my current situation at home: Kim Mingyu is the cuckoo baby bird in my family. 

No, he’s not my step-brother, he has his own family. He’s just a neighbor living next door. And no, his mother is far from having a parasitic image. Although, many people ridiculously thought that my father remarried and assumed Mingyu is indeed my new brother because of how often he comes over to my house. Somehow it turned into a weird gossip because the housewives in our complex witnessed everything, but unfortunately, they’re a lack in the spitting facts department. They know that my mother is still alive and living with me, but they continue on running their mouths as if it doesn’t bother any families that are involved. It’s ridiculous. Moreover, these people dare to talk about my mom behind her back when my parents’ marriage is faultless. They’ve been happily married for more than 20 years and raised me as their only child. I may haven’t given them anything back in return, but I’m not a troublemaker. 

Until I met Mingyu. 

For that part of the story, we’ll talk about it later. As for now, I should convince you why having Mingyu around is a summon for trouble. 

*

Every morning, instead of getting woken up by my alarm, I open my eyes because of the chattery sound piercing through our thin walls, coming from the dining room which is right next to my bedroom. I get up, still in my pajamas, hair sticking out to different directions and heavy eyelids that refuse to accept that after a sleepless night the new morning will always come. I walk out of my room to witness my mother guffawing on the table, holding her stomach while Mingyu is gobbling down our breakfast. When my mother notices my presence, she immediately stops and turns around to the kitchen. “Jihoon-ah, you’re awake? I’ll warm up the stew for you!” she says.

“No need to, I’m not hungry,” is my immediate response lately. It’s hard to build an appetite when the list of your college assignments make you want to throw up in the morning. My mother is a great cook, but I also have no reason to eat. “I’ll just get bread or something.” There is an awkward silence in the air, but I pretend to not notice it.

“Good morning, _ hyung _! Rise and shine!” Mingyu, the main antagonist of this story, greets me with his usual buoyant energy, with puffy cheeks full of food he’s currently chewing like a hamster stuffing its pouches. A slice of fried egg is hanging in the air, stuck between a pair of chopsticks he’s holding. I told him before to stop flapping the food once, because, despite his gigantic human size, Mingyu’s butterfingered capability is pretty astounding. And before I say any warnings, he already drops the egg to the tablecloth. 

“ Do you want some eggs?” he continues, wiping off the excess oil smeared over the surface. He is already wearing the swimming team tracksuit today, I notice, with a sports bag lying lifelessly on the floor. I heard about the upcoming swimming events he’s participating, as part of the club in his college. “I know they’re your favorite, so I leave you one--”

“Shut up,” I say, then moving to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

You see, I don’t mean to sound like a dick or something, but don’t you ever wonder what the baby birds are thinking, knowing that there is an unwanted baby in their nest? And watching your own parent mothering the cuckoo baby child right before your eyes every day? I have nothing against Mingyu’s parents, to tell you the truth. In fact, his mother is a nice lady who can get along with almost everyone in our neighborhood. She may not like me that much but I wonder what makes her permitting his son to come to our place in the morning. I asked Mingyu about this, but he has never given me a clear reason why. ‘I like your mom’s cooking’, ‘I want to have breakfast here’ are his default answers whenever I shoot the question. Ever since he has exploded through his growth period, from a tiny sprout to a humongous beanstalk, he gets on my nerves the more he talks back to me. Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping my 10th-grade height and never grown an inch since then! Life is not fair!

*

I hear the knock on the door while cleaning my teeth. 

“_ Hyung _, can I talk to you for a second?” Mingyu’s voice is dull, talking from another side of the bathroom door.

“I’m busy,” I say, then spitting out the froth into the sink. I open the toilet lid and pull my pants down to my ankles. By the time I sit down, the door bursts open and Mingyu sticks his head into the room. There is a big frown on his face right before I launch the missile.

“But this is kinda important!” he whines.

“Not when my feces is involved, you blockhead--GET OUT!” 

*

On my way to the bus stop, I can see a shadow next to me. When I walk faster, it moves along with my speed. And no matter how fast and further I take my legs to avoid it, it keeps up with my pace even closed the distance between us. I hate tall people.

“Stop following me!” I yell.

“But I’m heading to the same stop!” Mingyu retorts. While I’m gasping for air to breathe, he takes another step and already stands tall next to me. “Geez, stop getting mad already. You’ll grow wrinkles faster if you frown so often in the morning. Here.” He hands out a wireless mouse to my nose. “You left it on your desk. You’d need it to work on your assignments, right?” 

I yank it off his hand and stuff it into my backpack. We stand next to the pole and wait there until the next bus on the schedule arrives. I’m still catching my breath while Mingyu looks around from the side of the road, hands tucking into his sweatpants. The main street is still empty so early in the morning, the perks of living in a quieter neighborhood. Although it’s not yet sweater weather, the breeze has been tickling my bones whenever I go outside in the morning. I was pretty much dragged by Wonwoo to take the morning class, which is not the period of time I’m good at dealing with. The library seems a nerdy place to meet up with a friend since we’ve signed up to be a team for a project, but Wonwoo is the only friend I can count on since we take the same major. And no coffee shop opens before 10, and at least we could get free water and wifi at the campus library. I didn’t mention any reasons why I’m up so early today to Mingyu, because if he knew, he might make excuses to follow me to my building before take a 180 turn back to his own. Just to see a glimpse of Wonwoo. He may never say it, but I knew Mingyu has a crush on that guy. I don’t know what he sees in him since they have nothing in common, but that’s not my business, is it?

“_ Hyung, _do you remember the time when we’re going to the public swimming pool?” Mingyu suddenly starts. The cheery voice he used earlier has vanished to a deeper tone. 

_ How can I forget? It’s the start of it all. _“Yeah, I do.” I look down at my shoes and notices the lace gets undone on one foot. I really don’t want to pick up on this conversation.

“I remember I was not fond of the idea at first. Swimming pool scared the heck out of me back then, you know. Things like open water, I was not good at confronting it. I remember because I was so small, my legs couldn’t reach the floor. But here we are now,” he flaunts a stupid grin on his lips, showing off his canine tooth. “As you know, I’m preparing for the competitive event right now. I’m so excited. It’s my first time to represent the team. The senior before me held the record for three years in a row and my coach expected me to break it. It’s kind of burdensome.”

“You don’t have to exceed anyone’s expectations, you know,” I cut him off. What an inconvenient piece of thought to have, to always be the best in everything. Mingyu has that kind of tendency. Being the firstborn male in the family seems to force him to set the standard for his younger sibling. Witnessing how often he has to surpass any limits puts me on a different perspective when it comes to Mingyu facing his fear. I’m so glad that I don’t have any brother or sister though, because I know I will never be good enough for them to look up at me. “You are you, always be good at what you’re very good at. But it doesn’t mean that you always have to be better. It takes time to be one.”

Mingyu gives me a look and turns back to the road. A car just passes the red light. “I know. That’s the word I’ve expected coming from you, _ hyung. _You always know what to say to ease me. Even though most of the time you’re being an ass, I can sense when you’re being sincere.”

“That’s good to know that you got me,” I scoff. Mingyu lets out a high-pitched snicker and elbows my arm lightly.

“But this time, I want to be more than I’m capable of,” he continues. “Because I have a mission. And it requires your help.”

I snort. This boy sure is ridiculous. “So, are you saying that you’re going to use me to split the burden?”

“More or less, yes,” he answers. There is a cunning smile lifted on the corner of his lips that I don’t like. 

“Oh no, you asshole. I don’t want to get involved in your sports misery. You’re the one who gets wet, I’ll be staying on the side, thank you. Whatever idea you have in your head, my answer is no.”

But Mingyu refuses to listen. “If I won the tournament, can you give me a kiss?”

“...A what?”


	2. He Asked For A Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu asked Jihoon for a kiss. How he should respond to it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to write a long chapter but I ended up having too much fun writing Jihoon having a conversation with Wonwoo, so Chapter 2 is kind of in a slow pace.   
More excitement in the next one (I hope!)!
> 
> And thank you for the kudos!

“...So, did you say yes?” It’s the first question Wonwoo asks me after I told him about the episode I had with Mingyu this morning. I can’t recall what kind of face I made as a response when he throws in the question, but it sure shuts Wonwoo’s mouth as he withdraws from the query. 

He takes a sip of his coffee, then pondering to the window wall ahead. I follow where he’s looking at as we’re exposed to the view of the sidewalk, where it starts to get crowded by people walking toward the same directions, heading to their personal business for the day. Meanwhile, Wonwoo sits down next to me, helping me to sort out the issue Mingyu has left for me unanswered. 

Wonwoo has his own quirky way to start a discussion, and throwing a question that bewilders you is one of it. He is quiet and dorky most of the time, but he becomes dependable when I need someone to talk through any problems. Besides, we’re working on a project together thus giving us a chance to meet up more often. 

We used to live in the same neighborhood but Wonwoo and his family moved out due to personal matters (his father inherited a house so his entire family moved there. We visited his new house once and were impressed. It was fridging huge). Once we entered college, we made a deal where we have to frequently meet at least once a month or at the end of the semester to catch up on things. It doesn’t involve only the two of us, but also our two other friends; Jun the professional ballet dancer and Soonyoung who studies Agriculture. Except for Jun, I happened to befriend Wonwoo and Soonyoung through our high school years. Wonwoo was my classmate for three years, and he introduced me to Soonyoung in our second year. Then we became friends with Jun through Soonyoung who described their encounter as ‘the spicy one’ (I asked Jun about this and apparently they met in the restaurant that held a spicy noodle challenge event. Hoshi lost big time and Jun won the challenge. He didn’t have to pay for his meal and got a free squishy a bowl of spicy noodles keychain. It’s still attached to his bag to this day). From then on we began to hang out more often, although Jun had to go back to his hometown in China for a couple of months. 

But once he came back to Seoul, I decided that I didn’t want to make more friends. I was content with just hanging out with three of them. What more do I need when I have two gagmen who could make me laugh with their stupid jokes. While for Wonwoo, we call him Grandpa since he could spit unexpected and random wisdom, but Wonwoo doesn’t seem to mind receiving that nickname. He’s just cool-headed like that.

“Why it sounds like he seems desperate to get your attention now? But the most important question is: for what reason?” Wonwoo rubs his chin as he continues to speak. “He could’ve asked for it one or two years ago since you basically see him every day.”

“Exactly,” I say, taking another bite of my croissant. I lift up my own cup of coffee, feeling the warmth running down my throat. A dose of caffeine gives a quick boost to the brain, but a particular memory of this morning is still a bit vague to me. I was not sure if what I heard was right, as I told Wonwoo, or if I misheard everything Mingyu had said. Him being in my house every morning for the last 15 years is already a mystery, but why would a guy like him ask me for a kiss. 

_ “What kiss?” I tried to convince myself that I heard him wrong.  _

_ “A kiss.” Mingyu puckered his lips and made kissy sounds. He seemed annoyed that I acted like I didn’t get him. “That, you virgin.” _

_ “...What makes you think that I’m willing to give you a kiss?!” _

_ “...Why not?” _

_ “Don’t answer my question with a question!”  _

_ “What’s so wrong about giving me a kiss?!” _

_ He’s fudging unreasonable. _

“Maybe it’s just a brotherly thing,” Wonwoo presumes, nonchalantly taking a piece of my pastry. He fills up one cheek and ignores my glare. “You know, some sort of platonic ritual. A commemoration to your brotherhood, accepting you as part of his family.”

“Do you kiss your younger brother?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah, on a daily basis,” Wonwoo says with a flat face. “Floods my bro with the love of a wet, and feisty ki--”

“--Alright, that’s enough. You’re not helping at all.”

Wonwoo cracks up. “Come on, don’t think about it too much, Jihoon-ah. I rather see it as a cute attempt for Mingyu to get close to you. You’ve known each other for years now, but you always put up a wall when he’s around. Although, being reclusive is indeed one of your quirks.” I open my mouth to defend myself, but Wonwoo stops me by holding out his hand in front of my face as if he doesn’t accept any kind of interruption. “I’m not saying that it’s a bad trait, but let’s acknowledge that it’s difficult to tear down your wall, man. It’s good for you because that means not everyone can mess you up, but once someone could, you know you’re in trouble.” 

He gives me a certain look that implies another story about the first guy I used to love. I can feel the heat on my cheeks as I recall a certain memory. “Maybe he’s trying to break it down just so you two can be comfortable around each other. I mean, I do understand him at some point; you can be hard to deal with since you keep things inside your head, Jihoon-ah.”

“I don’t need and want to be comfortable around him. He’s just...infuriating me!” The way I raise my voice draws some attention from people in other tables, so I look down and hide my face in my palms. I take a deep breath and blows it out. “Whatever he does around me, I just want him to stay fudge away from me. Also, why does it have to be a kiss?! We could just shake hands, for instance?! Or better, he could’ve said we sign a piece of paper and blood stamp it, I would rather say yes to that than a kiss!” 

“Hey, dude, calm down,” Wonwoo shakes me by the shoulder, then running his bony fingers to mess my hair. I smack his hand away. “There’s no need to panic, okay? If you don’t want to do it, just tell him that. I don’t see his request as a bad thing. Like I said, maybe he’s just trying to get close to you. I know that you two have a history, and it could be the reason why? Have you ever thought about it?”

I ponder on Wonwoo’s question and shake my head. I don’t know which part of our history could motivate Mingyu to suggest such a thing. _ It would be better if he straightly reported me to the police, to be honest.  _

“It’s about time for you to move on from that history, dude. What happened happens. Anyways, whatever the context he’s pushing on you, a kiss is just a kiss,” he continues, tugging his bag strap on one shoulder. “Don’t let the kid manipulate you with his demand. As long as it doesn’t involve any tongue action, just give the boy what he wants. It takes two to tango, you know? If you don’t give him your consent, then there’s nothing he can do to pursue you any longer.”

“And all this time, I thought Mingyu has a crush on you,” I state, following Wonwoo to the door as we’re done with our food and drinks. 

“Yeah, I’m aware of that.” It’s not the first time I told Wonwoo about Mingyu catching feelings on him, but the level of contentment Wonwoo has amused me every time. “I remember when you introduced him to me at your house. His ears were red like a boiled crab when our eyes met. It’s cute.” 

I grumble and follow him out of the coffee shop. 


End file.
